News

Biden forgives student loans for an additional 78,000 public service workers

AFSCME President Lee Saunders praised the White House’s announcement Thursday that the Biden administration will forgive student loans for an additional 78,000 borrowers — including many AFSCME mem

Scam Alert: State Policy Network

Don't fall for the scam.

Minnesota Outperforms Wisconsin

A new report shows Minnesota is a better state for working people than Wisconsin by nearly every important measure.

The Economic Policy Institute compared the two states’ records following the end of the Great Recession and the election of Gov. Mark Dayton and Gov. Scott Walker, from 2010 to 2017. The EPI says it looked to Minnesota and Wisconsin because of our two states’ proximity and widely diverging political policies.

This is the AFSCME Agenda

When AFSCME members stand together, we have power in numbers. Together, we can defend our freedom to take our loved ones to the doctor when they get sick and retire with dignity some day. Together, we have the power to make our voices heard at work and in our democracy. That’s our AFSCME Agenda.

Capitol Update: April 24, 2018

The latest from the Council 5 legislative team

Public Service Workers Need Unions More than Ever

Public service workers across the country are losing their foothold in the middle class. So says an article in The New York Times this week that serves as a reminder of why labor unions are more needed now than ever.

2508 Contract 2016-2017

This is the current contract.  Negotiations on the new contract are finished and a vote to accept the 2018-2020 contract was held on January 23, 2018.  The membership voted to accept the new contract.  Once approved by the city council and signed by the appropriate people, the 2018-2020 contract will be posted on the AFSCME Local 2508 website. 

Billionaire Spends Millions to Gut Public Pensions

Hardworking Americans’ right to retire with dignity is in danger because billionaires are spending a lot of money to take away our pensions.

John Arnold is one of the worst offenders. He’s a former Enron trader who’s spent $50 million of his own fortune trying to gut retirement security nationally. Enron’s implosion caused billions of dollars of losses to its workers and their families, including a $1.5 billion hit to public pension assets. Yet Arnold escaped with an $8 million bonus right before the crash.

U.S. Supreme Court Case Seeks to Take Away Union Rights

A case the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up this term called Janus v. AFSCME could make the entire public sector “right-to-work” in one fell swoop.

Janus is the culmination of decades of attacks on working people by corporations, the wealthy and the politicians who do their bidding to rig the economy in their favor. The forces behind this case are the same ones that have pushed to limit voting rights, undermine civil rights and attack immigrants.